


Jurassic Class

by majingojira



Category: Deadly Class (Comics), Deadly Class (TV), Jurassic Park - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, Dinosaurs, Multi, Updated Science for 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:48:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26565370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majingojira/pseuds/majingojira
Summary: What if the kids from Deadly Class were taken on the first tour of Jurassic Park?What if we updated the park with modern science and fully fleshed it out?This is the result.
Relationships: Billy Bennett/Petra Yolga, Marcus Lopez Arguello/Saya Kuroki, Marcus Lopez Arguello/Saya Kuroki/Maria Esperanza Salazar, Saya Kuroki/Maria Esperanza Salazar
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. The Island

I thought I understood how vast the difference was between the haves and the have-nots. I had no idea. 

It was spring break. On a lucky break having helped Shabnam out earlier in the year, I was invited to, as he put it, “A private island off the coast of Costa Rica my grandfather owns” for an extended weekend. He claimed that it was a natural reserve, so the beaches were pristine and empty, the police non-existent, and implied as subtle as a brick, that there was something ‘amazing’ there. 

How could I say no? 

It was a mix of legacy and rats that went with him. Willie, Saya, Maria, Chico, Billy, Petra, Brandy Lynn, Viktor, and Kelly. I was surprised Viktor made the cut. I didn’t give it much thought. I was too busy stuck in my own skull. The private jet was going to take us to Costa Rica before a Helicopter would take us to the island. 

Which was just spitting distance to Nicaragua, which I called home for 5 years. When we stepped off the plane as we headed to the Helicopter we could take to the island, I was hoping that the smell or look of the place would bring back some memory of what I lost. 

All I smelled was jet fuel and tarmac. The only reminder of home I got was the heat. And it didn’t bring back fond memories. Memories of small rooms and anxiety leeched off my parents. 

The helicopter was a tight fit. I got a corner without a window, the only upside of which was Saya being squeezed up against me. Whatever was talked about on the trip down was drowned out by her touch, her smell, and at least twice where she placed a hand on my thigh, but far enough away and quick enough to be a game to see who could catch her doing it. 

Fuck. 

As it was, it took me a second longer to get out of the helicopter than everyone else. 

The Helipad was a rather severe man in a short-sleeved Khaki ensemble and wide brim hat who had definitely seen some serious shit along with two other park ranger types standing next to a trio of Jeeps. Each one had a yellow logo with a black skeletal T-Rex in its center. 

The severe man began to speak, with an accent I hadn’t heard before. It clearly wasn’t an American accent or any of the ones I’ve heard. It wasn’t Australian but seemed close to it. “If you’ll hop in one of the jeeps, no more than 4 to a car, we can be on our way and get you situated.”

At which point there was a booming sound that we didn’t exactly hear, but felt it. It went right through me and rattled my guts just to hear it. All of us, except the rangers, they took it in stride, looked around like a gunshot went off. It was about as loud but was more of a note than a barking shot. 

Thankfully, no one drew their weapons, but hands went to where they were hidden, and eyes scanned the surroundings rapidly. Except Shabnam and me. Shabnam knew what was happening and was in the middle of us. I figured one way or another, there wasn’t much we could do, but since the rangers and Shabnam weren’t perturbed, why should I be?

Then the source of the sound reached its head from the treeline that I later learned was hiding an electric fence. It was a head. It was long and horse-like, but covered in tiny scales and ending in a narrow mouth that was halfbeak, but with teeth sticking out of it, and that was much too short for the length of the head. Small spines like those of an iguana started small near the middle of the eye and began working in a row down its neck, as did two parallel rows of horns in parallel sides of the bottom of the neck. 

And it was a big neck. 

And the head was a good fifteen or twenty feet off the ground. 

It was blue-gray in color, darker above and lighter below, with a red-yellow circle around its vivid green eyes, and a stretchy neck pouch just at the base of the head. 

It snorted, made the booming sound that rattled my bones, then opened its mouth to make a groaning sound like an idling engine that was as big as a whole damn car. 

When shoved a branch in its mouth, closed its beak around it, then pulled back to strip the leaves off it, it was joined by another head which repeated the first one’s motions and sounds. 

Then three more joined it. 

“Welcome,” the severe man said, “To Jurassic Park.”

Rich people. People so rich that they had their own goddamn dinosaurs. Goddamn Dinosaurs! 

That was what the park was all about. A biological reserve for the super-rich all to see dinosaurs. I didn’t feel disgusted about it until later for one very simple reason. 

Goddamn Dinosaurs! 

When it came time to get in the jeeps, I ended up with Petra and Willie, in the severe guy’s jeep. 

Willie was over the moon about it. 

He and I were largely on the same wavelength. “Dinosaurs! Real goddamn dinosaurs!” 

“The whole park is full of them,” The severe guy said. His nametag read “Muldoon” 

“Is it just those or are there more?” 

“Lots more,” Muldoon didn’t take his eyes off the road, “It’ll be explained when we get to the visitors center, don’t you worry.” He waited a moment before saying “Was that a sword the young lady in the first car was carrying?”

Petra answered before I could come up with a good lie, “It’s her binky.” 

Muldoon seemed to accept this answer. He waited a moment more before saying, “I know you’re all here to have a good time, and that’s what the park is for, but keep in mind that these animals can be very dangerous. So don’t try anything stupid like goading them or trying to sneak into their paddocks. If you do, then I’ll be the one who’ll have to clean up what’s left of you.”

The words came out of my mouth without checking in with my brain. “You’re worried about people breaking into the cages?” 

“It’s the most common zoo emergency,” Muldoon said, “It’s a Code 1 in every major zoo from the US to Japan. Now, breaking in the Capybara or Lemur cage is one level of trouble. Doing that with a Tiger, Rhino, or Elephant is another level. Doing that here is a level beyond even that. Understand?”

I nodded. I think the others did too. 

“Now the others are getting a more standard version of this ‘be safe’ speech,” Muldoon said, “But you’re our first real guests, so we don’t know what sort of idiocy you might pull.”

“Which is why you brought teenagers,” Petra said. 

Muldoon nodded, “Smart girl. But in any event, I don’t want to send you back home in a bag, or a bucket. Either is possible here. But what they really don’t want you to do is something to hurt the animals. Because around here, they’re worth more than any of us.”

Figures, no matter where I went, life was cheap. Especially mine. 

We arrived late in the day, and all the travel was draining, so the big tour would be tomorrow. So, for the rest of the afternoon, we toured the “Creation lab” where this mad science all took place. We got some talk from Shabnam’s Grandfather, John Hammond, about the park. We watched a movie with “Mr. DNA” guiding us along the whole process of how they got dinosaur blood from amber and used that to make the clones. It was simplified, but even then, I could barely understand more than that. Had some nice fanfare music, though. 

The movie then segued into a ride which showed off the actual technicians at work making dinosaurs using various sizes of egg, from the size of a large marble to the size of a medicine ball. I felt we would have been snarkier if the trip over hadn’t been so draining. 

By the end of it, everyone was so exhausted we went to their rooms with little fanfare. 

But I couldn’t sleep. 

Even after the trip and the little talk, as well as the explanation we got for this place (something about cloning with amber, I really didn’t care). It just struck me as wrong. This place was artificial to the point that the animals weren’t really animals, but copies of animals. But really, this was the ultimate power flex by Shabnam. Showing his connections and what he had access to far and beyond anything, anyone had ever seen before. 

And it worked. It had people’s attention, but the real test came in the morning when everyone else woke up. 

I’m writing this at 5 a.m. I’m still wide awake, but at least now I have the birds to keep me company. 

I was about to write this place off until I saw it. 

It was a dinosaur, but it wasn’t in a cage-like the big ones we saw before. At least, I think it was. The talk mentioned how the dinosaurs cloned proved to be far more bird-like than we thought and filled in gaps that we previously had in our knowledge somehow. They were even saying that birds were dinosaurs, just changed over time, and I could get behind that. 

So I assume the little bird with teeth and a long tail chirping at me from the jungle edge was a dinosaur. It scaled the wall by clawing its way up and flapping furiously. It was interested in the grapes I’d been picking at for about an hour already. 

A little escapee, like me. 

Well, I wasn’t going to be a dick, so I fed it a few. It swallowed them whole with only a few shifts of its head, like a bird. As it perched on the ledge, I got a look at it. It was like a small hawk in the way it looked and moved. Brown above, lighter below, with little black spots to disrupt the pattern. Small claws on the wings were sharp and occasionally used to crap some of the larger grapes rather than catching them in its mouth. It was fearless. 

But its feet were weird. 

The claws closest to the center of the body were very big. Even though it was about the size of a macaw, or a chihuahua, I figured it could really mess someone up with those claws if it wanted. 

And it wasn’t afraid of me. 

Sure, that could be a bad thing, given how on and on Muldoon went about how dangerous the animals could be. 

But fuck him. 

I’ll side with the escaping rebel here over him any day. 

I gave him the last grape and told him, “All out. Good luck out there, little guy.”

It chirped before it’s head snapped up, looking into the room. It turned away and, after taking a crap on the railing, jumped off. It flapped as it fell before hitting the trunk, latching on with its wing claws as if it were a feathery squirrel, and scrambled into the foliage, disappearing. 

Dinosaurs really are weirder than we ever thought. 

Billy opened the sliding door, his voice weary, “How are you up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Heard something out here.”

“Just a bird.”

“A bird?”

“Yeah,” I pointed to bird-like crap the dinosaur left, “Big parrot. Fed it grapes. It flew off.”

Billy nodded and went back inside, plopping back on the bed. 

Your secret’s safe with me, little dude. Even better, I didn’t have to lie about it. 

As I waited for everyone else to wake, I went down to where the breakfast buffet would be held and tried to talk with the workers there. 

Thankfully, my Spanish is still good. 

“What’s this place really like?”

“Terrifying,” he said, “No one goes into the park after dark. Not even the Americans. And no one starts their morning shift until the sun is up even down here.”

“Why’s that?”

“Have you seen the monsters here yet?”

I shook my head. 

“That’s why. They’re covering it up, but there’s been a few attacks here. Last week, Alejandro was gutted by--” and then he said a word I hadn’t heard before, “But they covered it up. Say it was an industrial accident. But we’ve seen how--” He said the word again “jump at the fences every time a person gets near them. Only one with any sense about them is Muldoon, and he’s drunk half the time. They should be destroyed.”

I asked him to repeat the word I didn’t understand. 

“ _ Raptor _ . You’ll pass their cage on the tour. “They’re called Dakotaraptor, but everyone just calls them Raptors. They look like eagles, hunt like wolves, and are worse than jaguars. They are killers, one and all. And they have a big gutting-claw on their feet.”

I felt my stomach twist. “And they’re all kept locked up?”

“If they ever got out,” he crossed himself, “We’d all be dead.”

I thanked him and let him get back to work. 

As I lost my lethargy and appetite in one go, I went back to the room. The raptors were out. And I knew no one would believe me until they ran up and bit us in the ass. Every white guy I’ve seen here so far had an attitude similar to the mayor in  _ Jaws _ except Muldoon. He was more like the crazy fisherman guy. 

I just hoped the little guy told his parents about the grapes. 


	2. The Raptor Paddock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kids are shown the Raptors. Marcus admits something.

The next morning, Shabnam grabbed the few of us to be ‘up’ early enough to see something that wasn’t ready for the park, but that we would all “appreciate.”

It ended up being Me, Saya, Willie, Chico, and Viktor to go to an isolated paddock about a hundred yards from the hotel. 

“This is an isolation paddock for animals that aren’t performing up to snuff,” Shabnam said, “But for these, you could say they’re performing too well.”

The heavily reinforced fenced area maybe 30 yards square. The forest in it was rather thick, so Viktor spoke up first saying “You have a problem with plants?”

Shabnam rolled his eyes, “Just keep looking, I’m sure you’ll spot one.” 

So, we looked. I think Saya spotted it first, but Willie was the first one to speak up, “What is that?”

It was the head of something. Roughly triangular with a blunted snout. At times it brought to mind the head of an eagle, at others, the head of a crocodile. Parts of its face around the nose and mouth were scaly or covered in something keratinous. The body and neck were feathered. It was largely green and brown but striped like a tiger from what little of it I could see from the foliage. 

It raised an arm -- but it was both an arm and a wing. Only the thumb stood out as it scratched its chin, but beneath the half-sized wing feathers, two other powerful claws poked out from underneath. It opened its jaws slightly, revealing a row of slender blade-like teeth. 

At first, I thought it hadn’t noticed us. But I soon realized it  _ had _ noticed us and was acting like it didn’t. 

It was trying to play us. Before I could wonder why they let me know. Two others of this -- whatever it was -- leaped out of the ferns. Wings fully spread and claws extended, shrieking live demons, and slammed into the fence. Sparks flew as I fell, the animals thrashing and leaping back, feathers flew as the smell of burnt hair and seared flesh filled the air; the anger of the shrieks had quickly changed to pain as the animals stepped back away from the fence. 

Viktor and Chico stood up quickly from where he apparently fell too. Willie had frozen while Saya had her sword at the ready. 

While Shabnam just smiled. 

“What the fuck is that? You trying to play some game?” Chico’s chest puffed up. As if in response to the sound, one of the animals hissed at him, which made him flinch. 

“No game,” Shabnam said, only a little defensive, “Just letting you guys know exactly what we have here.”

“A new cure for constipation?” Willie said.

“Weapons,” Saya supplied. 

Shabnam nodded but didn’t seem to like the answer, “One of the deadliest animals in history. Smart, strong, fast, and great with teamwork.”

“They played us,” I said, “They baited us for an attack.”

Shabnam snapped a finger and pointed at me, “Bingo. Still needs some work, but once we figure out how to train them, well, Nature’s perfect hunter will be at our disposal to hunt down whatever we want.”

No one could say anything to that. This wasn’t just a power move to show how rich and well connected he was. He basically said that at least half of what the school had been teaching us was going to be worthless. 

No. It was going to be extinct. 

We got back to the hotel in time for no one to be the wiser about our little excursion. My mind raced. The colors, the shape. The claws. Those were  _ raptors _ . Like the one I saw outside the cages. The  _ baby _ I saw outside the cages. The tour said all the dinosaurs were girls so they couldn’t reproduce on their own. The tour said they could never escape. 

But they were and they did. 

They were out there in the jungle. Hiding. 

And here Shabnam was bragging about turning them loose as weapons. Thinking his grandfather had them under control. 

Before my mind could even start working this out, Saya grabbed me before we got back to the hotel and dragged me aside behind a bend in the trail, and behind some bushes. My heart was pounding in my head, and not for the reasons I wished it was. 

“What do you know?” the coldness in Saya tried to pull me back to the reality in front of me. But the pounding kept going. Part of me wanted to lean down and kiss her, the other, louder track in my brain screamed about how the Raptors could be behind any bush now. 

I managed to say a few monosyllabic sounds which approached words sometimes. She shoved me against the tree. “You know something and are starting to freak out. Tell me what it is before anyone else notices.”

I leaned down and whispered through my teeth, “That’s not the first  _ raptor _ I’ve seen.”

Saya blinked. 

“I saw one last night. At the hotel. A baby,” I held my hands out to let her know its size, “I talked with one of the kitchen staff here after that. He mentioned those things. Called them raptors. How they’d already killed at least one worker and how this park terrifies everyone here. How no one goes in after dark.”

Saya seemed to get it, “They said they were all girls.”

“Well,” I said, “Maybe they found a way to make a Lesbian Utopia work.”

Saya gave me a hard look at that, “Are you sure it was one of those … raptors?”

“Because long-tailed birds with clawed hands and stiletto toes are just so common in Central America?”

Saya looked back down the trail, grabbed me by the collar, and pulled us back on track. As we walked slowly back to the hotel, she whispered without moving her lips, “Are you going to tell them?”

I answered, barely moving as well, “No.”

Saya waited a moment before responding, “Good.”


	3. The Zoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Outside the park, there is a zoo. Dinosaurs are there, as are other things best described as Monsters.

The first half of the day was spent in the ‘zoo’ and ‘aquarium’ halves of the park. Turns out there’s a lot of animals from dinosaur times that survived to the modern-day, and those areas were full of those animals. I hadn’t been to one of those since my parents died, so I admit, I lost myself even with the normal animals. That they threw in more monsters was another level. It was so easy to fall into the wonder of it all. I can only look back now and wonder how it kept my cynicism at bay for as long as it did. 

We hit the aquarium first if only because the fog hadn’t burned off by the time we finished breakfast. Largely indoors, it was rather relaxing. The whole thing was guided by a man named Ed Regis. He put on a good show of it, but I think we could all tell he didn’t want to be doing this. 

At first, I wish I had some weed for it all, but by the end, I’m glad I didn’t. 

It was all regular modern stuff at first. Weird squishy things I’d never heard of that were proto-fish, starfish, horseshoe crabs, weird rooted animals called crinoids, primitive shellfish and crustaceans, along with an icy jellyfish tank that looked trippy as hell under neon lighting. Then it went on to some very gnarly fish: gars, sharks, rays, lungfish, this 10ft long monster of a fish called an Arapaima, and a thing called a coelacanth which had fleshy fins. It had arms, but it still had fins. Weird. 

Most of us got sucked into it, though Viktor and Chico did their best to hide it, they let it slip for the bigger, toothier things on display. 

The thing that really threw me off was how empty it was. Sure, we were the only ‘tourists’ on the island, but there was almost no staff. I’d talked to one server bringing out breakfast, but everything else had automated guides by some dude, Richard Kyle, or something. Honestly, I’d have preferred a false-faced tour guide trying their best to earn a paycheck than some pre-recorded nonsense. 

Then came the forest room. 

It was a big, open room with a glass ceiling. The air was thick and heavy, an artificial swamp with an enclosed walkway above it. The automated tour told us it was a “Re-creation of Carboniferous forests” which is apparently where all of the coal and oil come from. 

Never knew all the smog and shit came from burning the corpses of dead things. The smell should have been a giveaway. Still, apt. Burning the dead to ‘power’ a terrible future. 

And there were bugs. Monster bugs. Dragonflies that could eat pigeons flittered in the air. Roaches bigger than my hand crawled about. Centipedes and millipedes as long as a leg scurried across the ground, or climbed up the trees. And spiders. 

Big tarantulas had burrows here, as well as these elongate not-spiders, I think they were called Solifuges or something. They had scorpion claws for mouthparts. 

And the scorpions--those would be giving everyone nightmares. Big as a cat, and could probably kill one. Chico was enthralled by it. Like admires like, I guess. The way Petra looked at it, it was clear to me she thought of sneaking one of these into Viktor’s locker. 

Ed Regis and the automated tour voice told us that these animals were Genetically Modified Organisms rather than clones. Made to be very similar to insects from the time period. Apparently, they couldn’t get DNA to do their whole cloning thing. 

Three things stood out beyond that. One of the millipedes, half as long as Chico, that reared up at us, hissed, and sprayed the glass. Mr. Regis said it sprayed cyanide as a defense and not to worry as they kept antivenoms on hand just in case the worst happened. You’d think with all the tinkering, they’d do something about that. I doubt the glass would be enough. 

The second was a centipede as long as my leg. It slithered through the underbrush without a care, and the automated program gleefully let us watch as it ate a white mouse. I hadn’t seen one even close to that size since I was brought to America, but when I was smaller, back in Nicaragua, one snuck in the house and when I picked up a pillow, it lunged at me. My mother managed to kill it before it bit me, but seeing it eat now sent a shiver up my spine. 

The last was what was in the water. Giant Salamanders, one of them as big as Chico. Because we were the only ones on tour, an automatic feeder was activated, releasing some goldfish into the water. The salamanders crept close to the fish and sucked them in like a giant vacuum, with a head big enough to wrap around my own. 

After that, it was a penguin exhibit. Except they weren’t penguins. They were a bird called ‘the Great Auk” (who’s Latin name was “ _ Penguinus _ ” so I guess they are penguins). They stood as tall as our shins and were a little cute. The girls liked them at least. They didn’t give a crap, which is apparently what got them killed. They didn’t do much as humans came in and hunted them to extinction. It happened so fast that no one got a chance to study or even try to save them before they were gone. And now Jurassic Park scientists managed to clone them, with hopes of releasing them back into the wild. 

It seems if you are rich enough, you can get a ‘do-over’ on almost anything. Even death. 

I would have complained more, but Ed got us into the pen and a keeper was with him, and if we wanted, we could give them a fish. Viktor and Chico decided not to, Chico holding Maria back not wanting to have her hands smell like fish or something. 

I’d like to say it went off without incident, but I was slow on the draw, or the Auk was quick on the draw. It jumped up, snapped the fish out of my hands before I could dangle it out. On reflex, I caught it and it just sat there swallowing the fish in a few quick gulps. Mr. Regis moved to do something, but the keeper stopped him. 

“That one is always eager for attention,” she said, “Though I wouldn’t hold her for too long. They poop almost hourly.”

Which it did. Right on my hands. It then wriggled out of my grasp while a good chunk of everyone got a laugh at my expense. Mr. Regis at least said, “Don’t worry, there’s a restroom nearby.”

Small favors are better than none I guess. 

After I got cleaned up, the Aquarium tour continued. We went to a covered outdoor section by a large lake that was split into several sections. The first was a small ‘duck pond’ like inlet where at first I thought a few ducks were kept. But they weren’t ducks at all. Something called “Halzkaraptor”, little duck-like dinosaurs from Mongolia. They had long legs, tiny wings, and swam as well as they ran about. I have to admit, they were cute, but seeing their beaks filled with teeth was kind of unnerving. The next section was the “Alligator Pond” where 3 gators basked in the water, not really doing much. But they watched us intently. 

As did the giant serpent. It seems in the ancient days of the dinosaurs there were snakes of massive size. Called Titanophis or something. This anaconda was nearly 50ft long and had a head big enough to “Swallow a crocodile”, as the tour voice said. 

From its coiled position on a log near a pond, it eyed us closely, following our group as it went. It seemed to zero in on me as I was at the back of the pack. I moved up past Petra and it’s gaze fixed on Billy instead. And I understood what the guide meant. It could ‘swallow a crocodile’, with the gators being there to serve as an easy visual metaphor. Kept separated by a massive fence with fine mesh, all they could do was eye each other. Until we came by. It would rather devour any of us over the gators. 

A short walk from that brought us to the end of the Aquarium, and the scariest thing so far. The label called it “Spinosaurus.” 

It lurked in a massive outdoor enclosure made up of a lake. At first, we just saw the sail that was largely blended into the background. But then it moved, and its head pivoted to face us. It reared this 6ft long slender snout on a powerful neck and eyed us directly. It swam gracefully, forcefully towards us. As it did, the lake shallowed out and it started to crawl towards us. First on all fours, then it reared up, standing well over 15ft tall as it reared back and hissed. 

The fence wasn’t nearly thick enough for my liking. Everyone backed up at its hiss. When it stood up, it waddled like a duck but was so massive no one found it funny. The claws as big as my hand on the end of its arms, the finger-length teeth in a jaw big enough to gulp any of us down did a lot to make up for the awkwardness of its movements. 

It looked us over and seemed to decide we were sufficiently cowed before turning away. 

Chico tried to say something smart back at it. Probably ‘Yeah, you better run’ or something, but he never got a chance. The creature thrashed its tail once and soaked us all in one fell sweep. 

Billy laughed, but Chico killed the sound with a glare. 

“They should label this as a splash zone,” is all Shabnam managed before we moved on to the outdoor zoo, to dry off. 

The zoo was similar to the aquarium, but outdoors for the most part. Full of animals from today that survived the dinosaurs, or resembled dinosaur-times animals, with a few monsters thrown in. 

It was a little of the reverse of the previous. In the Aquarium, we walked from the most primitive to the most advanced creatures. Here, it started with Giant Anteaters, Sloths, Armadillos, Tapirs, Peccaries, Capybara, and an Aardvark. Then it was a visit to the aviary. There, colorful ground birds called Tinamou were allowed to wander wherever they liked. Some places were open forest walkthrough domes where dozens of birds like the Hoatzin and Mousebirds flew freely. We also passed cages containing Condors. They had enough room to fly a little, but they just sat watching us. 

I received looks like that at school all the time. 

But they included some odd things. Like the Carolina parakeet and Passenger Pigeon in huge flocks, each in their own domed section. 

In a cooler section, they showed us a Moa. We expected a giant, but the thing that came out was maybe twice the height of a turkey. Mr. Regis explained that this was one of half a dozen Moa species, and the only one known from mummified remains, so it was the easiest to clone. It was an “Upland Moa.” Its feathers were shiny black, with patches of red and blue around its head and neck. Despite its odd posture, it moved around with a slow grace that I kind of liked. 

The next section of the aviary was partly blocked off. Mr. Regis took us into the first section anyway, because the real problem section was a bit further down. Here, the strangest things flitted around the trees. They looked like feathered dinosaurs, but they had four wings. Their legs and arms being covered in flight feathers. They flitted about from tree to tree with raven black feathers, the sunlight making them iridescent in patches. 

“These,” Mr. Regis said, “are Tetrapteryx. An animal we only speculated about until we got relatively intact DNA strands to clone for Jurassic Park. This is another solid link in the chain that proves birds are dinosaurs.”

Man, that sounded so rehearsed. Still, it was kind of neat to think of everyday pigeons as little dinosaurs. 

“The other animals in this section,” Mr. Regis said, “Aren’t ready to show yet.”   
  
“What are they?” Saya asked. 

“Well,” Mr. Regis checked a small notebook that he retrieved from his back pocket, “Another feathered dinosaur, but this one has little bat-like wings rather than four wings We’ve dubbed it Ambopteryx, or just the Wyvern since it apparently has a habit of spitting its stomach acid at things that annoy it. We’re installing protective glass on the walkway to protect visitors. The others are the Dactyals and the Quetzal.”

“Pterodactyls?” Willie bit bad his enthusiasm as best he could “And Quetzalcoatlus?!”

“Ceradactylus, actually,” Mr. Regis said, “A bit bigger than the Pterodactyl, but smaller than Pteranodon. Unfortunately, they are highly territorial, so we’re working on the best way to display them. And the Goddess?” Ed sighed, “She is a bit too big for the enclosure we had planned, so she is being kept in her smaller cage so she doesn’t try and hurt herself flying.”

“How big,” Saya said, “Is too big?”   
  
“She’s as tall as a giraffe,” Mr. Regis said, “You’ll get to see her from the Park. The Aviary stretched out enough that it touches the main park, so I’ll point her out to you when we drive past it.”   
  
That seemed to keep Willie’s enthusiasm in check and we moved on. 

After that, it was smaller mammals and weirder ones. Mouse Deer, Elephant Shrews, Echidnas, Platypuses, Opossum, and a giant rat-shrew thing called a Solenodon. 

Reptiles followed, with Tuatara, Komodo Dragons, Geckos, Iguanas, and Boas among the many things on display. But here they had three monsters waiting at the end. 

One was a group of turtles as big as Volkswagen beetles. They didn’t do much, but they didn’t have to. All they had to be was big and bumpy, armored heavily on the arms and head. One did stretch out its neck and give us a look over. It was eye level with me. It regarded me with something that made me feel small. I was being evaluated by a turtle. 

As if I’m not judged enough. 

They called them “Colossochelys” and it seemed to fit. 

Past them was a true Gila Monster with a body bigger than any of us. This giant was a recreation of its Dinosaur-era ancestor. They fed it ‘dud’ ostrich eggs, which it greedily devoured without a care for us. 

And lastly was a thing called “Megalania”. A giant carnivorous lizard bigger than a crocodile. Said to be from Australia, the thing didn’t even bother to look at us as it basked and waited in the shade. It even tried to scratch its ear like a dog, which was honestly rather unnerving as it was done slower, and the foot had large claws all down its side. And they didn’t bite in. 

The guide voice said the creature had armored skin, and that some bullets wouldn’t affect it due to its boney armor. 

I almost wondered why it was so armored, but as it scratched, it gave me the answer. Imagine, being so dangerous you have to have armor to protect yourself. Maybe that’s what I’d need to survive school. 

By then we had totally dried off and were ready for the main event. Three cars pulled up. Mr. Regis gave us all a brief overview of what the cars would be like. Fully electric, automated, with a “CD-Rom” computer built-in for advanced interaction with the park. Joy. More Voice Guided Tour stuff. 

He reminded me of a few drug dealers I’ve seen. “Here’s a free sample, you want more, come back with money.” 

Mr. Regis went in the first car with Shabnam, Kelly, Chico, and Maria. Viktor and Brandy Lynn were in the second car. Which meant Willie, me, Saya, Petra, and Billy were in the last car. Willie took the driver’s seat, and I took the passenger seat, with Saya in the middle between Petra and Billy.

She didn’t look happy about it, but it was either that or dealing with the Russian and the White Supremacist, so the choice was rather simple. 

Mr. Regis talked over the radio about how the cars and how the whole park was built to be largely automatic and how they ‘spared no expense’ on it.

And it made my skin crawl. 

“Well,” Billy said, “As long as it doesn’t call us ‘Dave’, I think we’re safe.” __

Which just made me feel even more unnerved. Damn near everything was automated here. 

And the words of the cafeteria guy just rang in my head. 

_ No one goes into the park after dark.  _


	4. The Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tour of the park begins in earnest.

As far as car rides went, this was one of the better ones I’d been on. The audio tour voice was … different. Mr. Regis said it was some guy named “Richard Kylie”. I don’t think anyone knew who the hell that was. Still, he wasn’t as bad as the guy in the zoo. 

They also said they got John Williams to do the theme for this place. Thankfully, he mentioned him as the guy who did the music for  _ Star Wars _ , so we at least knew who the hell he was.

And it was a pretty good theme. 

The cars drove us to massive wooden gates that opened for us automatically as the theme blared and the voice said “Welcome to Jurassic Park.”

“What do they have in there, King Kong?” Billy smirked as we passed through the gates. 

Honestly, at that point, I wouldn’t put it past them to make another monster. 

“Throughout Jurassic Park, there are various species that are given some freedom to roam in and around the various enclosures. Some of these are native species to Isla Nublar, others have been brought in to make the dinosaurs feel more at home. If you miss them, don’t fret. They are also available for clearer views in the Jurassic Park Aquarium and Zoo.” The voice said. “Information on them can be called up as requested as part of the tour.”

“Though the motion sensors used to activate this system still have a problem spotting the sloths, so keep a keen eye out!” Mr. Regis added over the radio. 

“In order to create the most authentic experience possible, many plants from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods have been placed within the habitats. These include many species of ferns, cycads, club mosses, and tree-ferns. Many pine trees have also been placed within the park, including Cypress, Japanese Umbrella Pine, White Pines, Sequoias, Monkey Puzzle, Podacarpacs, Ginkgo, and Wollemia pins. Ginko in particular is a staple of many of the largest residents, and the seeds seem to be a favorite of the small carnivores. 

“But don’t think the world of the dinosaurs was a world without color. Flowering plants first appeared in the Cretaceous period, and many primitive forms survive today. Planes, figs, magnolias, lotus, water lilies, dutchman’s pine, spicebush, and a few primitive types of grass have all been placed with the dinosaurs to make them all feel more at home.”

“Gilded cages,” Petra murmured, “How sweet.”

“Through the miracle of cloning, Jurassic Park Scientists have managed to learn more about dinosaurs in a few short years than over 100 years of Paleontology,” The voice continued, “Like our first example: _Dilophosaurus_.”   
  
“Alright! _Dilophosaurus_!” Willie said as he turned to look out the window.”

His enthusiasm was infectious. We all looked. 

“We have several _Dilophosaurus_ in Jurassic Park. It was thought that they were relatively weak early carnivorous dinosaurs, preying on smaller dinosaurs and avoiding the bigger ones.” 

Despite what the tour-voice said, there was only one visible _Dilophosaurus_ , dipping its head into a stream to get a drink. It sucked water in for a few moments before lifting its head with the tip of its snout pointed to the sky. It was colored like a jaguar, tawny with black splotches across its body, but out of its head came a pair of shark fin-like crests. 

It took me a second to realize that the body wasn't covered in scales. It had some long spikes down its back, but the rest of its body was covered … was it fur? 

“Thanks to Jurassic Park scientists, we’ve learned that many dinosaurs were covered primarily in primitive proto-feathers. Dilophosaurus also proved surprising in that it is actually poisonous. Able to spit its venom almost 50ft to blind its prey.”

“Don’t worry folks,” Mr. Regis said, “We’re safe in the vehicles.”

“As long as we keep the windows up,” Petra smirked. 

“Next on our tour is the _Pachycephalosaurus_ ,” the tour voice said, “The dinosaur with a domed head, at least as an adult.”

The car rounded a corner to the next paddock which had a herd of about 6 animals moving across an open field in the midst of the dense forest, while two more seemed to be eyeing each other. 

But not all of them had domed heads. Most of them had large horny protrusions ringed around the dome, or just had the draconic horn on an otherwise dinosaurian body. They had odd little hands with almost human-like proportions if the human thumb wasn’t opposable. 

The two who circled each other had dommed heads. 

“And they’re at it again,” Mr. Regis said. 

“What’re they doing?” Billy said. 

“Squarin’ up for a brawl is what,” Willie said before Mr. Regis could. 

“They do that sometimes,” Mr. Regis said, “It’s a dominance thing. Their skulls are thick enough that they don’t take much damage from it.”

As he spoke, the two animals lowered their heads and rammed each other. The knocking sound echoed through the cars and my body with its force. 

“Of course, if they want to break down a steel wall,” Mr. Regis said, “They can.”

“This dinosaur was full of surprises when it was cloned,” The tour voice said, “their heads change shape as they mature, and when they are young, they are omnivorous, eating insects and small animals until they are half-way to adult size. Their head-butting contests are very ritualized, and only a few blows are ever exchanged.”

True to its word, the animals began to, well, the best way to put it is dance. They bobbed their heads, spun around, did odd kicks. 

If it wasn’t for the thundercrack of a strike, we probably would have laughed harder. 

But the cars kept going. The next paddock held Thescleosaurus, a small plant-eater a little less than 5ft tall. As we passed them by, a few of them ran into burrows they had dug in the hillside. The digging behavior was unexpected. Their torsos were also covered in what at first looked like hairs but were actually feathers. They kept an eye on us as we passed, warry. 

_Ankylosaurus_ was in the next area. One was sitting in a ditch it had dug for itself basking in the sun, while another grazed. They were red-brown on top with an off-white throat and belly. The armor bits, and the whole thing, was enormous. There were also several trees that, by the look of things, they’d knocked down with those stiff clubbed tails. 

The next paddock held duck-billed dinosaurs: _Edmontosaurus_ and _Parasaurolophus_ , along with a small meat-eater _Sinosauropteryx_. The little dinosaurs followed the herds around eating the insects they kicked up. The duck-billed dinosaurs were very different from what I thought they looked like. 

Their necks were thick and horse-like, walking on all fours, and had long, powerful tails. But the weird thing was the weird bits on their faces. The _Edmontosaurus_ had crests and waddles like chickens, and the _Parasaurolophus_ had a flap of skin down the back of the crest, but it was weird. Some of the crests were short and curved, but a few of them were long and tall -- almost as big as a person. My first thought was the taller crests were for girls. 

But didn’t the park guide say that all the dinosaurs were girls?

Whatever. 

They also made these deep rumbling sounds like from tubas or something that shook even the vehicle. It was pretty wild. 

The waddles and weird head things on the Edmontosaurs apparently attracted a lot of bugs. The birds that rode on the dinosaurs’ backs helped clean them a lot, but they needed more. So some smaller dinosaurs, _Sinosauropteryx_ , were brought in to help keep the bug population down and clean their waddles while the big ones slept. 

The next area held a small group of _Triceratops_. They weren’t herded up or anything, just hanging around, like turtles put near each other. But they were not what I expected to see. The horns had an S-curve near the end of them that stuck out a little to the sides. And the back was covered with thick scales and sharp quills placed sparsely across it. Each one was longer than my hand and sharp as a knife. No dinosaur riding for this one. 

One of them saw the jeep and the color of its frill shifted to a bright red pattern. That was pretty cool. 

Something called " _Anzu_ " was next, and at first, I thought it was a bird with a crest on its head, but the fail had more bulk to it than any bird tail does. Also, claws on the wings. They were as tall as a man and the cars pulled over and encouraged us to call out to them. 

So, we did.

Maria spoke first, “Hey there!”

And it answered in perfect mimicry of her voice. 

And then, we went to town. 

Sure, we started with a few “pretty bird” and other nice things. But really, we knew the score. Mr. Regis saw it coming but was too late to stop us. 

We ran down every curse word and insult we could think of, across multiple languages. Just going all ham, and after they repeated a few, the group started mixing and matching words on their own to holler back at us. And threw in other words on top of that, words probably form the keepers. I’m not sure they understood what they were saying, and they threw in a few Spanish curse words unprompted, but they got the hang of it. 

Then one said, “Raptor’s out! Raptors out!” 

Another made a shrieking howl, followed by more panicked curses. That shriek. It was like the one I heard before at the raptor paddock before it attacked. One of the herd followed that by emitting a chilling scream. Others chimed in with the sounds of ripping and tearing flesh. 

They all went to feed at a trough in unison afterward. 

Killed the mood right quick. 

“Up Next,” the pre-recorded voice said, “Is the King of the Dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex.”  
  
Which, if I'm honest, only made things worse. 


	5. Tyrannosaurs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tyrannosaurs are fed.

The next paddock we saw was huge. Simply huge. There were plenty of trees as well as a decently sized open area to it. The cars stopped and we looked over the enclosure, but it seemed nothing was there. Just trees, ferns, a few small hills, and that was it. 

“Jurassic Park scientists have discovered many aspects of dinosaurs that could simply not be learned from through the fossil bones alone. Tyrannosaurus is a good example of that. We discovered that Tyrannosaurs are highly social animals, operating in packs. So, to keep them happy, we have three Tyrannosaurs in Jurassic Park.”

“Yeah, but they’re  _ invisible _ !” Billy huffed. 

“They can be a little shy,” Mr. Regis said over the radio, “But since it’s feeding time, we’ll get a good look at them.”

That got some interesting reactions from our car, let alone the others. Biggest land predator ever, and it was 'shy'. 

When a live cow was brought in via some underground elevator system, I got a little worried. It looked around and seemed to sense that something was amiss. It tried to run, but it had a chain tied to its neck and kept it down like a dog. 

But I didn’t see what it was reacting to. 

Saya was the first to spot them, “That hill isn’t a hill.”

And she was right. The hill spun and turned its head around to face the cow, revealing its true nature. Two other heads popped up from behind the hill. Then she stood up with surprising grace, not just for the tiny arms, but for something that big. As were the other two Tyrannosaurs. 

“Their names are Roberta, Rebecca, and Renee. Roberta is the eldest and leader of the pack, with Renee being the smallest of the three.” The tour voice continued. 

Roberta led the trio to the cow, and they were huge. Even with their chests held parallel to the ground she stood easily 12 feet tall, and more when she reared back or pulled back her head. Roberta faced down the panicked cow while the other two flanked it. She opened her mouth slightly and that’s when I saw the teeth. 

They were thick. Like railroad spikes. Not just in girth, but length. It took me a moment after realizing that to notice that in that moment of awe, the Tyrannosaur had bitten down on the Cow’s head. The sick crunch it made turned my stomach. The cow twitched once before it went limp in her grip. 

She lazily opened her mouth and let the cow drop. Then, the three went to town on the corpse. They literally ripped it apart between the three of them. Once they quartered it, they dropped the various parts and began slurping up the organs rather delicately. This delicacy extended to stripping the rest of the flesh from the body for some parts. Other parts, they just crunched and swallowed whole. This included the limbs and ribs, but not the hips or spine/head. Each bite took a chunk of flesh that must have weighed as much of a person. About 10 bites and the cow was all gone. It was all over in half a minute. 

Willie managed a “Woah.” Followed by Billy swearing. Saya said something in Japanese, I think. 

Petra eventually swallowed hard and said, “I may never eat again.”

I just prayed the fences held out. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the king of dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex.” 


	6. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tour continues and everyone realizes that the park was never under control.

The ride was quieter after that. Maybe it was seeing an animal eat another, maybe it was the power of the Tyrannosaurs, the sheer idea that these were being put on display for amusement. I don’t know, but the rest of the tour became a bit of a blur. 

I mean, sure, there were some impressive and bigger animals -- a Jurassic savanna with several sauropods (Apatosaurus, Ehelopus, and Omeisaurus), with smaller animals scurrying around their feet (Nanosaurus). I mean, sure, the Apatosaurs had spikes on their necks and Omeisaurus had a club tail, but it just couldn’t compare. 

We passed the Stegosaurs, and one of them was apparently sick. This seemed to get Petra’s interest. After Mr. Regis explain the situation as best he could, she mentioned “What about the gizzard? Dinos are all bird-like, maybe it’s got a gizzard and is swallowing something it shouldn’t.”

That got some wheels turning apparently. Billy did his best to compliment her on it, but she brushed him off. The usual between them, really. 

After that was another predator: Majungasaurus. This brought us to a drier area. They were… But they had arms even tinier than the Tyrannosaurs. And they flapped them at each other. If they weren’t so ugly, it’d be funny. One of them appeared to be lying on the ground, but when we passed by, it shifted its stance and its color shade changed, becoming more like the earth around it. 

“Majungasauurs is like a chameleon,” the narrator said, “Able to change its coloration to suit its surroundings, but also appears to do so to express their emotions and possibly even communicate with each other. If you keep a sharp eye out, you can spot the 5 we have in this enclosure.”  
  
Aside from that first one, Billy saw 1, Petra 3, Willie 2, and Saya didn’t say. I spotted 2, the same as Willie did. Maybe we were just at a bad angle. 

After that was a ‘desert watering hole, with a really odd assortment of animals in it. A long-necked animal, _Saltosaurus_ , covered in armor and living on the shore, alongside the weirdest thing we’d seen so far. 

“Alongside Saltosaurus is a strange animal we recovered from a rather intact DNA sample and comparison to what little fossil material we have has confirmed that this animal is _Deinocheirus_ ,” The voice recording said, “An omnivorous dinosaur that eats both plants and small animals, with a particular taste for fish.”  
  
How do I even describe it? IT was like a camel-duck with giant arms the size of an elephant and covered in feathers. I guess that works. It honked a bit at our passing and even fished out something from the nearby waterways to snack on with its massive bill. The collective “What the fuck” we shared was pretty apt. 

Now fully in the volcanic flats, with only a few sparse tall trees, a herd of Gallimimus, ostrich dinosaurs more than half again as tall as any ostrich moved in a flock in their own enclosure separated from a quintet of … giant geese wish massive arm claws instead of wings, that’s the best way I can think to describe the animal they called Therizinosaurus _._

“The Gallimimus can be quite territorial, using their wings to puff themselves up to be fiercer. However, against larger dinosaurs, they are more likely to flee than display. They will attack if provoked, but tend to imprint on a few keepers seeing them as members of their flock. This allows Jurassic Park workers to easily handle them,” The voice said as one flapped its wings and honked at us as we drove by. 

“Therizinosaurus is a strange animal, related to Segnosaurus. Despite being a therapod, it is actually a herbivore, using its claws only for defense,” The voice continued, “Those claws, by the way, are over three feet long.”  
  
We appreciated that cutlery but really couldn’t get past the pot-bellied weirdo before us. 

Last on the tour was another carnivore, Carnotaurus, the “meat-eating bull.” There were 3 of them milling in their enclosure. They looked like a cross between a plucked chicken, a crocodile, and a devil. They had pretty strong legs from what I could see but seemed to be lounging about.  
  
Until they started flapping their little arms. One of them had bright feathers and flaps of skin off it, and the others seemed to reply with their own movements. Then it started to, well, dance, for lack of a better term.

“Are they dancing?” Willie leaned in for a closer look at them.   
  
And that was a good way to describe it. They flapped their arms and bounded back and forth, did pirouettes, and raised the tail up pretty high. The color of the ‘main’ dancer shifted slightly to darker browns along its back, and under its armpits were flashes of brilliant red and blue. Like, shockingly bright.  
  
They then dipped their heads together and the less colorful one laid down, lifted its tail, and...  
  
They started fucking, right in front of us.  
  
After the initial laughs were had, Saya made a good point, “That shouldn’t be happening.”

Billy missed the point, “Didn’t figure you for a prude, Saya.”  
  
She rolled her eyes, “The tour guide said that all the animals were engineered to be girls. And I don’t think they’re lesbians.”  
  
Seeing a pink… something… slide out of the hole of one animal and into the other’s hole confirmed that at least. 

“The dinosaurs are fuckin’,” Willie said, “Can’t deny that.”  
  
“Yeah, but for how long?” Petra said. 

From the chatter on the radio, it seemed everyone else was reaching a similar conclusion. Until Shabnam got through to someone in the control room named “Mr. Arnold” and asked about displaying animal numbers.  
  
I didn’t understand the reasoning that was going on, it was all computer stuff. But the short of it was, there were actually more dinosaurs in the park than they expected to find.

Thankfully, they put a chart on the screen for all of us to see. 

* * *

**Jurassic Park GM/C Animals**

Species - Expected - Found - Version

Ambopteryx - 6 - 18 - ??  
Andrias - 2 - 2 - 1.5  
Ankylosaurus - 8 - 10 - ??  
Anzu - 10 - 16 - ??  
Apatosaurus - 17 - 21 - ??  
Arthropleura - 5 - 5 - 3.3  
Blatopterus - 10 - 100 - ??  
Carnotautus - 4 - 4 - 4.1  
Ceradactylus - 3 - 3 - 4.3  
Colossochelys i. - 5 - 5 - 2.4  
Conuropsis - 50 - 70 - ??  
Dakotaraptor - 8 - 37 - ??  
Deinocheirus - 4 - 5 - ??  
Dilophosaurus - 7 - 7 - 3.1  
Ectopistes - 50 - 63 - ??  
Edmontosaurus - 21 - 26 - ??  
Euhelopus - 7 - 8 - ??  
Gallimimus - 30 - 40 - ??  
Halzkaraptor - 6 - 6 - 3.3  
Megalapteryx - 4 - 5 - 2.1  
Megalania - 1 - 12 - ??  
Meganeura - 5 - 20 - ??  
Majungasaurus - 5 - 5 - 3.5  
Nanosaurus - 30 - 60 - ??  
Omeisaurus - 10 - 14 - ??  
Palaeosaniwa i. - 5 - 5 - 2.2  
Parasaurolophus - 11 - 13 - ??  
Pinguinus - 15 - 15 - 2.7  
Procompsognathus - 49 - 65 - ??  
Pulmonoscorpius - 3 - 20 - ??  
Quetzalcoatlus - 1 - 1 - 3.7  
Saltosaurus - 14 - 17 - ??  
Scolopendra i. - 2 - 20 - ??  
Sinosauropteryx - 20 - 30 - ??  
Solofugus i. - 3 - 12 - ??  
Spinosaurus - 1 - 1 - 2.7  
Stegosaurus - 4 - 5 - ??  
Tetrapteryx - 4 - 4 - 1.5  
Theraphosa i. - 2 - 30 - ??  
Therizinosaurus - 4 - 7 - ??  
Thescelosaurus - 22 - 28 - ??  
Titanophis - 1 - 1 - 1.5  
Triceratops - 4 - 5 - ??  
Tyrannosaurus - 3 - 5 - ??

* * *

Almost every animal they messed with, despite all their planning and safeguards, was breeding. That little guy I gave grapes to earlier that day. Or last night, hard to remember. This sent the staff guys off-kilter. There was denial, asking about the discrepancies and weird spikes -- and the implications that many of the animals had escaped into the base of the island rather than just the park. 

In our car, Petra was the one who spoke up, “Chaos theory strikes again.”

“Chaos what?” Willie turned to her, seeking an explanation. 

“Chaos theory,” She repeated, “The idea that complex systems are inherently unstable and that messing with them even in small ways can have big ramifications. Here, they messed with DNA and it in a way they didn’t plan for.”

“And since very few people go into the park,” I added, “Especially after dark, they didn’t notice until we came through.”

Petra nodded, “Bet we’ll get a Malcolm Effect out of this too.”  
  
With that revelation, it was decided that the tour was well and truly over, and to get us out of there as fast as possible. A tropical storm was moving in too, if only for dramatic effect. These rich assholes had tried to control nature, and it was gearing up to bite them in the ass. 

Part of me wanted to stick around a little just to see that happen. 

“I got the feeling,” Willie said, “That those ones that haven’t gotten a big number boost either have babies that are too small for the computer to pick up or their eggs haven’t hatched yet.” 

“Can’t argue with that,” Saya said, “We need to get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Billie said, “Because I think a lot of those extra animals aren’t in the pens.”


	7. Kings of Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Power Goes Out on the Road.

Night fell as we headed back. The words of that local worker rang in my head. “No one goes into the park after dark.” Not only were we in the park after dark, but we knew why: because the animals were breeding uncontrollably, and some were already out of their fences by the look of things. The darkness was deepened by a tropical storm that moved in as we came back. Rain and clouds closed the world around us. We may as well have been traveling through a pod in space. 

With things in the darkness that could easily kill us. 

God, I wanted to get high right now. If only to take the edge off. 

Riding past the dinosaurs was nice and all, but knowing that this park was completely out of control took the ‘awe’ factor down a bunch and turned it into a threat. 

Saya kept her sword close to her. Checked his piece, which I didn’t even know he brought. It made me feel a little better. Petra spent some time in the back crushing some ‘fun stuff’ together in a bag. 

Billy and I didn’t have anything. 

And I was on edge.

I unbuckled, crawled out of my seat, climbed over the back seat (to several protests), and got in the trunk. I rummaged around, looking for something we could use. 

I grabbed the first loose thing that wasn’t a pamphlet, “The heck are these?”

“I think they’re night-vision goggles,” Billy said, “Toss ‘em up!”

I did and kept rummaging. A toolbox with a few tools didn't have much. I pocketed a screwdriver and pushed it aside. Bottles of water and energy bars were also passed up because this ride back was getting past dinner. We were all a little hungry. 

I opened a large case and found the motherload. Fire Extinguisher, three flares, and a heavy flashlight. 

I put the flares in my waistband and passed up my prizes. 

“Okay, flashlight I get,” Petra said, “But why the fire extinguisher?”   
  
“Heavier than the flashlight,” Billy said, “Bean something good with it.”

“Pretty much,” I said, “Or spray them in the face and run. Running is always a good option.”

Petra sighed, “That was my plan. Money shot them with some E and run away.”   
  
Off Saya’s look, she added, “I’m throwing white shit in someone’s face, what do you want me to call it, clown-facing them?”

“That’s actually more horrifying,” Billy said. 

I don’t know why, but that got us all laughing as I got back in my seat. 

That’s when the lights cut out and the cars rolled to a stop. The laughter died with the light. 

“Storm must have knocked out the power,” I stated the obvious. Someone had to. 

Saya turned to Billy, “Where are we?”

“I dunno!”

“The googles, dumbass!”

After a minor cringe at forgetting the thing in his lap, Billy futzed with them in the dark before I turned the flashlight on them (it was damn bright). 

“Okay, got it!” he said, strapping it in and getting to focus, “Okay, where are we? Where are we…? Where… Are… Fuck. Fuck-fuck-fuckity fuck-fuck!.”

“Billy,” Petra tried to shrink into herself, “where are we?”

The words came out hollow and, even in the dark, I could feel the paleness in his voice. “Tyrannosaur Territory.”

Saya cursed in Japanese again (I think it translated to “God Damnit” or something). 

“Okay, fences are down, but there’s a moat,” Willie said, “And a wall, we looked a little down on them from where the cars were. Even with the fence down, they get out.”

My eyes focused a little on the road as I watched Ed Regis exit the second car and run into the woods. 

“Fuck,” I managed, “The tour guide just bailed.”

“Bailed?!” Petra croaked. Willie cocked his gun. Petra pulled her knees up to her chest. 

“Billy, look around, see if you can spot them!” Petra commanded, “Billy!”

The second call out got him out of his fear-induced paralysis. He lowered the goggles over his eyes and looked around the fence line frantically for a moment, looked a little higher, then stopped. And looked higher. 

“Oh fuck, they know the fences are off!” he said.

“How?!” I managed, my voice cracking. 

“Because one’s touching it right now!” 

The heavy steel cables snapped and twanged in the air one after the other. The titanic poles holding the fence up bent in the wind, creaking like an old gate as the metal strained. 

The thing that struck me about it was how quiet the tyrannosaur was. She stepped out onto the road with no vibration, no ‘whomp’, just delicate footsteps over the road. I could barely see more than just her legs. She stepped right in front of our car, passed us by, stopped, and seemed to look around. 

I’ve heard loud things before. Gunshots, screams, trains… but nothing like this. A rasping hiss with the depth of a tuba echoed through the car and my body. She was calling to the others. 

And they followed her. She gave them the ‘all clear’. They were working together and we were in tiny metal boxes that hadn’t a prayer of protecting us. 

That fucking tour guide had the right idea. 

No. He left us as bait. 

That fucker. 

“No sounds,” Willie said, “No movement. They already ate today, so they may not be hunting.”

“So, they could just play with us to death instead,” Petra shivered, “Great.”

Willie smiled a small smile and looked at his piece, “No way this is taking down a rex. Not gonna hesitate, though. Can’t possibly kill ‘em with it.”

My heart almost stopped after the second sentence, my mind racing to our first exam project together. 

Maybe. Maybe. 

The Rexes moves about the cars, looking around. They lowered their heads to peer inside them. 

The big one was on us. Her eyes were as big as baseballs. I held my breath as its nose bumped the car. It was a light nudge, and the vehicle bounced slightly. I held on, praying she didn’t notice my movement. 

Ahead of us, the lead car opened its back door and it seemed to gather the Rexs’ attention. 

And someone was shoved out, the door quickly closed behind them as they were left sprawling in the mud. In the darkness and rain, I at first couldn’t see who it was, my heart thumped like a drum from fear as my eyes adjusted and --

“Maria!” Saya shouted and started to move to help her, but Billy and Petra held onto her, begging her not to go. I looked to Willie, he shook his head. 

I knew he was right. I knew he was right and I hated every fucking bit of it. He held an arm out to reaffirm his right-ness. 

Maria had the Tyrannosaurs’ attention. The one nearest to her let out a barking sound of surprise when she was shoved out. The others glided over to Maria and looked down on her. One reached down and shoved her with its nose. The action flipped her onto her back and she tried to scramble away. But the Tyrannosaurs nudged her back into the center of their curiosity. They moved their noses across her body. I think they were sniffing her. 

There really was nothing we could do. 

The others in the lead car took the moment and opened the doors on the other side. Shabnam, Kelly, and Chico made their way out of the car. They moved slowly to the edge of the vehicle, without making a sound, as the Tyrannosaurs took turns bumping Maria with their noses, each shoved eliciting a spark of fright. 

God, they were playing with her. 

The trio took the chance and bolted. 

Which was the absolute worst thing to do. 

The predators noticed the movement, their heads snapping up and locking on them. Two of the Rexs chased the trio. It was surprisingly a rather even race. The humans were in a full sprint quickly, and the Tyrannosaurs were quick to move into gear. Chico was in the lead, and the Rexes were being given a good chase. But no matter what happened, it left one Rex on Maria. The small one. 

There was a chance. 

I opened the door and stepped out into the rain. Flashlight over my shoulder via a strap, and road flare in my hands. 

I prayed she was alive. 

The smallest rex, Renee, stood over Maria as I approached. She tilted her head up in a single jerk and locked eyes with me. She opened her mouth a little and let out a deep hiss that I felt as much as heard. 

I saw the tip of Saya’s blade in front of me, and Willie’s pistol arm extended on the other. They had my back, and I had confidence again. 

I sparked the flare. Immediately, Renee backed off instantly at the fire’s glow. 

“Back off, Mothefucker!” I said in a much higher register than I wanted it to. 

Renee answered my call by doing another hissing growl at me, her teeth shining crimson in the firelight would haunt my nightmares for several eternities. I’m pretty sure I wet myself right there, but the rain was so thick it didn’t really matter. 

Maria whimpered on the ground. Saya and Willie gave out other calls to scare the dinosaur off, but she didn’t budge. I thrust the flare towards her and she pulled back but didn’t move a step otherwise. Saya stepped forward and slashed with her sword. She just missed as the Rex elevated her head out of Saya’s reach -- then darted down to snap at her. 

Saya pulled back and avoided the strike, sending a counterstrike of her own that bounced off the animal’s jaw. 

She hissed again, finally stepping back. I grabbed Maria with my free hand and pulled her to her feet. She was covered in mud, her eyes as wide as dinner plates, but otherwise fine. 

The Tyrannosaur lunged again but was cut off by a spray of foam. Willie had the Extinguisher in his hands, having put his gun away and sprayed the animal in the eye. 

She barreled through us, but had her head raised, bellowing a low cry as she shook her head. 

“Head for the Trees! Get to the dense trees on the right. They’re too big to squeeze through.” Willie said. 

I looked around for trees but didn’t spot much. There was a sign for a toilet and a path to it, there was some flat ground. 

And trees. 

We ran. I looked around and spotted Petra and Billy diving into a drainage pipe a bit further down the road as well as Renee shaking off the last of the foam. 

In the darkness and rain, I could still see the outline of the other two Tyrannosaurs coming around the bend in the road. The big one, Roberta, tilted her head back and opened her jaws to let something slide down her throat. In the darkness, I couldn’t tell much. I knew it was human. Who, I couldn’t say. But the smallness of them compared to her jaws, and the ease at which it went down her throat was burned into my mind. 

The middle-sized one started to chase us. 

We went down the path as long as we could, even running alongside the bamboo wood building before we dove into the brush. The Tyrannosaur didn’t navigate as tightly as we did, smashing into the building. I heard it collapse under her force as she shrieked. A shaft of bamboo flew past my head and I felt one slap me in the back. I stumbled, but kept running, holding Maria’s hand. 

I turned back and saw the building had completely collapsed, leaving Ed Regis out in the open, sitting on a toilet. 

The Tyrannosaurs staggered from running into the building before looking down at Mr. Regis. 

Before he could even scream, the Tyrannosaur engulfed him in his jaws and picked him up. She shook her head rapidly, for something that big. I didn’t think the blood spray would reach us. But in the rain, I thought I felt it as his body was torn apart just from being shaken so much, his legs flying aside. 

Now, he was our bait. Bastard. 

After swallowing what remained, the Tyrannosaur daintily picked up the legs it dropped and swallowed them too. 

Saya grabbed my free hand and took the lead, breaking contact with the horrible sight. 

I saw Willie motion to us to get near him. When we reached him, he guided us into a crevice that seemed deep enough and narrow enough for us to hide. The rain was lessened by the trees, but we huddled in the dark as the dinosaurs finished with what meals they had. 

Huddled in the dark, Saya grabbed Maria’s face and looked her in the eye, “Are you okay?”

It took a few moments for Maria to answer, but she managed, “Chico kicked me out,” after a few tries. Heart hammering still from all that, it also wept for her. I grabbed Maria at the same time as Saya and she broke down crying quietly in our grasp. 

I don’t know how long we held Maria like that, but it was broken by the sound of tearing metal and screams. I peered over the lip of our hiding spot and watched as the dinosaurs took their apparent frustrations out on the central car, which still had Victor and Brandy in it. 

They spun it around with their heads, bit down on the Fender and half lifted the car up before ripping it off. Another bit down on the rear-mounted tire, and tore that off. 

Roberta bit down on the roof and tore it off, leaving Brandy Lynn and Victor exposed -- but they had already sunk down below ‘easy biting’ range, using the seats as protection. 

As Roberta leaned over, Victor fired several shots at her. Pretty sure she wasn’t hit, but the flash and bang startled her. No. It annoyed her but seemed to do little else. Made me feel less bad about going in unarmed. 

It didn't do much good beyond that. Instead of being eaten, Roberta picked up the entire car in her jaws, lifting it by one side, and tossing it into the Rex paddock. From the delay sound of the fall, it must have been at least a dozen feet up. 

The Rexs' kept their mouths closed, but a booming sound we didn’t so much hear, but felt pass through us, posed over their destruction, reminding us that here, they were kings and we were prey. 

At King’s Dominion, we had been separated into Legacies and Rats. 

In Jurassic Park, we were all Rats, and they were the true legacies. The kings of creation. 


End file.
